Publications

19 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 19, 2008

reflect the use of higher inventory levels by retailers to drive increased profits but with overall reduced gross profitability returns on the inventory investment. These results support the notion that the increased deployment of large-store, multiple-store formats... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Latin America - Global

economic inequality in Mexico and beyond. Participants engaged in thought-provoking discussions on navigating the evolving expectations of business in society. The conversation focused on actionable measures for Latin American firms to address inequality, highlighting... View Details

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance?

This study focuses on how and why firms strategically respond to government signals regarding appropriate corporate activity. We integrate institutional theory with research on corporate political strategy to develop a political dependence model that explains (a) how... View Details

19 Aug 2019
Blog Post

Investing in Breakthrough Technologies to Lead the Energy Transition

led me to pursue opportunities in the investment and technology sectors while at HBS. During the recruiting process with Shell, I had the opportunity to interact with senior leaders and learn about the ambitious strategy that Shell has of... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Technology

Web

Europe - Global

significant transformation. The ERC has contributed to much of the European-focused faculty publications and research projects across the School. Research topics have ranged from the challenges of European economic and financial... View Details

December 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Leerink Swann & Co.: Creating Competitive Advantage

By: Boris Groysberg and Andrew N. McLean

In the spring of 2005, CEO Jeff Leerink has called a meeting of the executive committee to formulate Leerink Swann's growth strategy over the next five years so that it accomplishes three goals: expand into a new business, reinforce the firm's legacy businesses, and... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Human Resources; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Expansion

Web

2023 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

measure of company returns but are deeply flawed. We propose an alternative measure that isolates operational performance from financial engineering, titled Core Operating Shareholders Returns (COSRs). In the process of disentangling... View Details

April 1993 (Revised September 1996)
Case

ABB Deutschland (A)

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

Describes Europe's most famous postwar multinational merger between Asea of Sweden and Brown Boveri of Switzerland. Gives background on both companies and focuses particularly on BBC's geographic organization, its corporate culture, and the relationship between its... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Subsidiaries; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Behavior; Business Strategy; Sweden; Switzerland

Find at Harvard

November 1999
Background Note

Recognizing Revenues and Expenses: Realized and Earned

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Describes a key concept in financial accounting: choosing an appropriate revenue recognition point. The accrual process requires revenue recognition and expense matching for reporting on the value creation process of companies. Describes the two key criteria for... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Cost Accounting; Budgets and Budgeting; Revenue; Profit; Cost Management; Value Creation; Competitive Strategy; Financial Statements; Accounting Industry

September 1993 (Revised July 1995)
Background Note

Public Policy and the Manager: Conceptual Framework

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Government intervention in markets may have significant effects--both positive and negative--on a firm's strategic options and its performance outcomes. Thus the ability to analyze the origins, implications, and dynamics of public policy is a critical managerial skill... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Management Skills; Government and Politics; Adoption; Business Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Economic Systems

February 2011 (Revised December 2022)
Supplement

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott

One of the leading publishers of textbooks and other educational materials for the U.S. K-12 educational instruction market has suffered a dramatic decline in sales and profits in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial market crisis and economic recession, and it now... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Decisions; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Profit; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Sales; Competition; Publishing Industry; United States

Web

Finance - Faculty & Research

Finance Finance May 2014 Article Dynamics of Demand for Index Insurance: Evidence from a Long-Run Field Experiment By: Shawn A. Cole , Daniel Stein and Jeremy Tobacman This paper estimates how experimentally-manipulated experiences with a novel View Details

11 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

Is Amazon a Retailer, a Tech Firm, or a Media Company? How AI Can Help Investors Decide

health care, utilities, energy, real estate, and technology by as much as 2.5 percentage points on an annualized basis. The TOPICS method uses sophisticated financial models to spot hidden similarities in risk and return profiles among... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services; Financial Services; Financial Services; Financial Services

December 2004 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Delaware Worldwide Corporation

By: Ronald W. Moore

Discusses the bankruptcy reorganization process, with an emphasis on valuation and capital structure. Serves as the basis for a bankruptcy reorganization game that has been used for many years in Creating Value Through Corporate Restructuring, a second-year finance... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Valuation

2012
Book

Banks as Multinationals

By: G. Jones

This is a revised edition of a comparative, international study which looks at the history of multinational banks. Researchers from the United States, Japan, Europe, and Australia survey the evolution of multinational banks over time and suggest a conceptual framework... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Multinational Firms and Management; Banks and Banking; Business Strategy; Geographic Location; Trends; Theory

January 2007 (Revised October 2008)
Case

H&R Block 2006

By: Peter Tufano

Mark Ernst, the Chairman, CEO and President of H&R Block, has to decide how to respond to a competitive threat posed by a competitor's refund-lending product. Block is the largest U.S. tax preparation firm, which competes not only on its tax preparation services, but... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Taxation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Competition; Financial Services Industry

Web

Middle East & North Africa - Global

Chairman, Interbrand S.A.L. February 2025 Event Integration of AI in Marketing Strategies with Prof. Shunyuan Zhang On February 20th, the HBS MENA Research Center and Harvard Business Review Turkey hosted a special session on the... View Details

March 2008
Course Overview Note

Dynamic Markets

By: Joshua D. Coval and Erik Stafford

The Dynamic Markets course at Harvard Business School is organized around the hands-on application of financial decision making in a wide variety of capital market settings. The course relies heavily on in-class simulations of a range of market settings where students... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Decision Making; Capital Markets; Competitive Strategy; Profit; Applications and Software; Information; Strategy; Price; Outcome or Result; Curriculum and Courses; Theory